Bromelain does not provide significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory benefits over placebo in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of bromelain to control pain and inflammation in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy. ANIMALS: 30 client-owned cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy. PROCEDURES: In a randomized, blinded clinical study, cats were assigned to receive either oral bromelain suspension (40 mg/kg [18 mg/lb]; BG, n = 15) or placebo solution (0.1 mL/kg [0.045 mL/lb]; PG, 15), which were administered 90 minutes before and 12 hours after surgery. The anesthetic protocol included acepromazine, meperidine, propofol, and isoflurane. Pain and sedation were assessed at various time points up to 24 hours post-extubation using the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale, the Glasgow feline composite measure pain scale, and a descriptive numerical scale. Surgical wound inflammation was measured at the same time points, using a numeric rating scale. Morphine was administered as rescue analgesia. Laboratory data (urea, creatinine, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, the prothrombin time, and the fecal occult blood) were analyzed preoperatively and 24 hours after surgery. RESULTS: Pain/inflammation scores, and analgesic requirements did not differ between groups. Shorter recovery time and lower sedation scores were recorded during the first hour post-extubation in the BG than the PG. Postoperatively, serum creatinine and gamma-glutamyl transferase were lower in the BG compared to PG. Compared to baseline values, all biochemistry variables decreased at 24 hours in the BG. The prothrombin time and fecal occult blood did not differ between groups or over time. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Bromelain did not provide significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory benefits over placebo in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture for postoperative pain management in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the analgesic efficacy of Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture (YNSA) as an adjuvant for postoperative pain management in cats. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, blinded, clinical study. ANIMALS: Twenty cats aged (mean ± standard deviation) 25 ± 9 months and weighing 2.7 ± 0.6 kg undergoing ovariohysterectomy. METHODS: The cats were sedated with intramuscular (IM) ketamine (5 mg kg-1), midazolam (0.5 mg kg-1) and tramadol (2 mg kg-1). The cats were randomly distributed before induction of anesthesia into two groups of 10 cats each: group YNSA, in which bilateral basic D points were stimulated with a dry needle from 20 minutes prior to anesthetic induction to the end of the surgery; group Control, in which no acupuncture was applied. Postoperative analgesia was assessed at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24 hours postextubation using an Interactive Visual Analog Scale and Universidade Estadual Paulista-Botucatu Multidimensional Composite Pain Scale (UNESP-Botucatu MCPS). Rescue analgesia was provided with IM tramadol (2 mg kg-1), and the pain scores were reassessed 30 minutes after rescue intervention. If the analgesia remained insufficient, meloxicam (0.2 mg kg-1 as a single dose) was administered IM. Data were analyzed using Student t-test, Fisher exact test, Mann-Whitney U test and Friedman test (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Significantly lower pain scores were observed in YNSA when compared with Control at 1-4 hours based on the UNESP-Botucatu MCPS scores. Although significant differences were not identified between groups requiring rescue analgesia, additional postoperative analgesia was administered to four of 10 cats in Control and no cats in YNSA. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Perioperative YNSA resulted in decreased pain scores and a reduction in postoperative requirement for rescue analgesia in cats. This method should be considered a viable option as an adjuvant analgesic therapy for cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy.